The Trail of the Cetra
by Okashira Paige
Summary: A/U~What if during the Shinra building rescue, Sephiroth rescued Aeris instead of Cloud? Now AVALANCHE has two objectives instead of one. Tifa's perspective. Cloti! Non-Aeris bashing.


Hey, you guys, It's Lady P-Chan . I go by another name when I write fan fiction, (Hotohori4life-H4l) but I wanted to be different today. Umm, I'm currently involved with an online A/U FFVII, being what, would happen if Sephiroth was the one who rescused Aeris, not AVALANCHE? Where would that leave AVALANCHE? Well, in the game, I'm Tifa (my fav. Character!) , so I decided to post her adventures with the gang in this alternate reality. This takes place after Coming to Ft. Condor for the 1st time, and before getting to Junon. Umm, so far everything plays out normal until the Shinra Building. Before Cloud gets a chance to, Sephiroth rescues Aeris out to the Building after killing Pres. Shinra. He then takes her to the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim, while Tifa and co. follow after him and Aeris, seeking justice! (sort of like Wufei, eh? Lol) Umm, this is basically going to be from Tifa's poing of view, but I'm thinking of taking on other characters, Barret, Cloud, Nanaki, Yuffie, etc. just to keep the story moving. Don't worry, I'll describes what will happen to Aeris. Since I'm in charge, it's going to be a Cloti! Yah! I did say, that Tifa is my favorite character, so she will get her man!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, SquareSoft does. If I owned it, Tifa would've gotten Cloud for sure, and Barret would get that undershirt he so desperately deserves. ^^V  
Tifa Lockhart brushed a long strand of chocolate brown hair from her eyes as she surveyed the terrain around Junon. It was a long hike from Ft. Condor, but the members of AVALANCHE had managed to cover the distance within 2 days, which was an impressive feat. The area around Junon was cold and rocky, sort of uninviting, but everyone had agreed not to approach the bustling metropolis in the dark; it was after all, controlled by the Shin- Ra.  
  
She glanced around the campfire, garnet colored eyes taking in the faces that she saw, and committing them to memory, she had a feeling that things wouldn't continue to be so tranquil come the following days. Barret, her good friend and mentor, was stitching one of his sleeveless vests. Tifa shook her head with a faint smile on her lips. It was amazing, but Barret actually owned several of versions of his infamous vest, and strangely enough, not a single shirt to go under it. *That's going to change once we get to a colder location.* she thought, amused. She'd already exchanged the tight tee- and short skirt combo for more serviceable fare, once they'd hit Kalm. She did not enjoy giving every enemy a panty-shot, everytime she kicked. Being a hands on martial artist, using kicks was crucial, and it was most embarrassing letting the opposition know what color of Victory's undies she had on.Tifa now wore a form fitting, magenta sweat suit, with matching grey and magenta cross-trainers. *My Mother would roll in her grave, if she knew that I was out in public wearing that! * She shrugged as she continued to look at the rest of her party.  
  
Nanaki, or Red XII, if you chose to call him that, was lying on his front paws, hypnotized by the dancing fire. He was an very introverted being by nature, so he didn't tend to say a lot, unless it was important. She had talked to the young fire canine, and found him most educated, and intelligent. She considered him to be the voice wisdom among their little rag, tag band of vigilantes. Because their had to be one. *'Cause Cloud is what you might call a little impulsive..* she mused as her gaze settled on the most confusing member of the group, Cloud Strife.  
  
The stoic, spikey-haired, blonde was busy polishing his Mythril Saber by the fire, just a bit apart from Nanaki and Barret. His dark brows were furled slightly as his bent down in concentration of his work. Cloud, ah, Cloud was the enigma of the group. He was the harbinger of it all, Tifa mused. As soon as she saw him at the train station those months ago, her fairly exciting life, (after all, she was a barmaid by day, terrorist by night!) became action packed. Chaos seemed to follow her friend wherever he stepped, not that he meant to cause it. *But, that's okay. I'm just glad to have a bit of home with me, now that everybody's gone. A familiar face.* But, as great as they got along, there was always something niggling at her thoughts, whenever she glanced at the chocobo haired man. *That story he told us at Kalm, there was no way for him to know that! He didn't come back to Nibelheim 3 yrs. ago! But the details, the actions, everything! How could he know?!* That was another reason she was paying such close attention to Cloud as they went about their journey, there was something strange about Cloud, and she intended to find out what it was. There was something off about him, and she wasn't referring to his fashion sense. He seemed to be the boy she'd known all of her life, but yet, he seemed more quiet, more cold. He was always aloof as a child, (except with her and his mother) but to become Arctic in such a short time, it was suspicious. And Tifa wasn't a suspicious person by nature, but the facts were overwhelming, 1. he knew things that no one else was supposed to, 2. he put himself into the role of Zack, during their little flashback sequence, 3. he kept having those freaky, anxiety attacks. At that thought, she frowned. Tifa Lockhart did not like not being in the know, and Cloud did not feel compelled to share about those attacks he kept suffering from. She continued to gaze at Cloud, frowning, her flawless, porcelain skin glowing warmly by the firelight. *I'm gonna keep an eye on you, Cloud Strife. I've found you, and I'm not going to let whatever's going on in that crazy head of yours keep you from me. You're all I have left, you, Barret, Marlaine, and Nanaki. All I have left..*  
  
While Tifa was standing there having that little monologue with herself, Cloud suddenly looked up, his mako blue eyes taking on an unearthly cast in the moonlight. He looked at her, *She seemed to be a million miles away*He thought, giving her an flashing grin.  
  
*Like what you see, 'Leenie?*  
  
Hearing Cloud call her by her nickname, she jumped, seeing those unearthly eyes fixed on her with a subtle amusement. She flushed a bit, being caught gazing at someone is a bit embarrassing, she told herself, nothing more. Then she softened at the fact that he called her by her nickname. Her full name was Tifa Mileena Lockhart, and when she was a child everyone in the town called her variations of both of her names. But ever since that dreadful day, there was no one to know her middle name. No one but, Cloud. He was the only one allowed to call her Mileena, or 'Leenie, and 'Leena. No one else. That was reserved for someone of the past, of happy days... She shook her thoughts out as she came to focus on Cloud, whose face was still wearing that amused cast, but was more alert as he looked upon Tifa.  
  
*Tif-Leenie? Are you okay? You look kinda out of it..* he drawled as continued to focus on her face with those eerily blue eyes. Cloud always was a very focused person, even as a child, nothing could sway his attention if he was interested in something, and now that he had his sights on her, it was a bit unnerving. Tifa vaguely noticed that Barret and Nanaki was watching their exchange with interest, and she flushed even more, she hated being in the center of attention.  
  
* Umm, yeah. she replied hesitantly, rubbing her left earlobe. * I'm just a little bit worried about Aeris, that's all.*  
  
At that statement, the whole group's atmosphere changed. Barret's right fist clinched. Aeris had been kidnapped by the damn Shin-Ra because of his daughter, there was no way he'd just let that slide. Destroying the conglomerate company would just be icing on the cake. Nanaki's, good eye narrowed, and tip of his tail flared with barely controlled rage. They used him, Nanaki, the grandson of the great Bugenhagen as a test subject, and now he found out that they planned it to do it to another?! He would avenge himself and the mysterious 'Aeris' or he didn't deserve to be "Born of Redfire". He would extract his revenge or die trying! He couldn't live with the shame if he didn't.  
  
Meanwhile Cloud's face lost all traces of humor and warmth as he absorbed what Tifa had proclaimed. He looked just like a living, breathing ice sculpture at that moment.  
  
Tifa wasn't sure just what the beautiful flower girl meant to him, Cloud was a fierce introvert, and let only a select few into his world, (herself included) but from what she could tell, the lovely, brunette had managed to thaw, the icy Cloud Strife, and Tifa just wasn't sure how she felt about that. . *It's not like I'm jealous, it's just I don't know how I feel about Cloud being so consumed with finding her. No, what am I saying?! Of course he's worried, she's his friend! I'm sure he's do the same for me.. . She mused as she sat down next to Cloud and asked, What time do we go to town, tomorrow? He glanced over at her, putting his sword in his scabbard, as he replied, At 7:00, why? She shrugged. Well, I was thinking that we could get some clues where Aeris went. Also, *she said, gauging his expression* Maybe we could get some clues where Sephiroth went. We need to find him immediately. If possible, the air of the group gotten even colder. That mad man was still running around loose in the world, and they had to stop him. He was potentially the most powerful creature on Earth right, now, and he was totally insane. The fact that he looked normal, was the bad part. But luckily one could recognize him by his trademark cloak and the Masamune, though, not that that would help the average citizen. But they were highly trained fighters, and they had righteous indignation on their side! *Or drugs in our systems!* Tifa thought ruefully as she listened half heartedly to their leader, Cloud, speak. Okay, we go into town and investigate. Ask everyone if they've heard any news about Aeris and Sephiroth. Also, any news about Rufus. We're undoubtedly wanted now, so we've got to keep in front of our enemies. The townspeople can't be happy about how things are going, so they'll probably tell us what we need to know. Also, upgrade your weapons and materia. Don't forget to stock up on healing items, we're running low.  
  
With that everybody agreed and settled down for bed. Cloud got the first watch of the night, so Tifa stared at him through sleep hazed eyes while he stood with her back to her, a few feet from the fire. Barret snored gently on her side, while Nanaki's tail twitched gently in sleep. *Cloud, I hope we find Aeris, and stop Sephiroth before it's two late. I have a very bad feeling about what he and his mother can do.* She thought as she drifted of to sleep.  
  
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Well, what do you think? Tifa is my fav. character in FF7, and I wanted to get her feelings across. How did I do? 


End file.
